September 30, 2013

There once was a girl, feeling restless and impatient... for the fulfilling of one of her magenta dreams had not yet come to pass. She had found a gorgeous treasure, but to the day had not been blessed with the opportunity to take out such treasure. So she decided to take measures into her own hand by granting herself the occasion on which her discovery came absolutely requisite...

PLAYING DRESS UP ON A LAZY AFTERNOON

All kidding a side... I just felt like trying this dress on to see how I would wear it. Do you remember me telling you the story on how I found this beauty (a true vintage fairy tale on it's own....)? Oh yes, playing dress up is one of those many guilty pleasures for which we are never to old if you ask me :)

September 28, 2013

Occasionally you lovelies ask me about my hair and how I create some of my up-do's. To be frank, I am no genius when it comes to hair styling... but I did manage to find myself a few easy going routines over the years. Here is one of my favorites, since it only take a few minutes (literally like 4... 5 max) and it tops almost any vintage-y look off. Let me run you through the steps!

The quick and easy updo

You will need: a proper brush, bobby pins (I'd say about 10-12) and an elastic band

Divide your hair into three sections, the middle section being the thickest one (1/2/1)

Turn the middle section into a ponytail with a clean and thin elastic band

Then run the band toward the end of that ponytail

Grab the remaining (tiny) ponytail and start rolling it towards your head (inwards)

Secure the roll with some bobby pins (don't be shy with the pins though, you want the roll to be solid)

Grab the two remaining sections of hair and start braiding the first one. You can use a small
band to close the braid if your hair is less stubborn as mind haha

Wrap the braid over the roll and secure the braid on several points with bi-ba-bobby pins

Don't braid the sections of hair at once; the one you wanted to secure second
will be unraveled by the time you get to it haha

Braid the last section of hair, wrap it around the first braid and roll, secure it with
bobby pins as well and make sure the ends are tucked in nicely

ET VOILA! Easy does it <3 Like this do, but not the braids?
Check out this tutorial by Irene!

September 24, 2013

Sunny.... too hot... not so sunny... rain.... some sun.... too cold.... cloudiness.... Hello transition to fall! What a pain you can be when it comes to getting dressed in the morning. I guess it leaves us with only one thing to do when we embellish ourselves in our finest wears; layering! And so I did on a sunny, not so sunny, then sunny again Sunday. In the end the temperatures climbed to the point of me changing into something less autumnal. But at least I got to taste a bit of what fall, my favorite season, was going to be like!

Trousers: vintage (ILV market)

Cardigan: vintage (Think Twice)

Blouse: vintage

Shoes: Bleyer

Purse: vintage

Hat: vintage (Giensch)

Accessories: antique/vintage/thrifted

September 22, 2013

Dears, I have made you something I hope you'll enjoy! It's a vintage webshop list of Dutch online stores which I would recommend. I have ordered from all these shops myself somewhere in the past. And therefore I stand for their quality when it comes to the products and shipment. I will give a short description of what to expect from the shops and what their strong point are. I figured this would be handier than to write different blogs about shops I discovered. So I will be updating this list as well in the future. In alphabetical order:

Small but cute. A lovely webshop with a store to match in Amsterdam. Found some cute pieces there in the past and I always make sure to check the Empire out when I go for an online vintage run. The pieces are mostly form the 70s and 80s.

A big online shop filled with goodies, mostly from the 70s and up. If you are more into the decades before that, you will run into older pieces every now and then, but not very frequently. Doortje is originated from a shop in Eindhoven.

Lovely webshop which focuses on the more 'clean' and wearable vintage pieces. Great blouses and blazers, but also a big selection of bottoms. I love the fact that they sell a lot of trousers... which is more rare in vintage webshops I concluded.

Strong points: Great selection of bottoms and a proper items descriptionDelivery: *still unknown to me

Love the girl behind this shop and her personal style! Madame Mode poured her passion for vintage into an amazingly cute shop (a boutique in Arnhem as well as a webshop) filled with vintage goodies and selected modern styles. You will mainly find pieces from the 50s-90s, but an older piece is no exeption.

Strong points: Sweet prices and a lovely selection of more excentric pieces
Delivery: Within a few days

Our queen webshop when it comes to vintage&repro. ILV is a gorgeous (online) shop with pretty products and a lovely staff. Clothing wise the focus goes to repro dresses from several labels (they even sell and produce their own GORGEOUS label named Bannou) and accessories are mainly vintage. You can find styles from the 20s up to the 80s. That way you can create complete looks, accentuating all your strong points. ILV has a beautiful boutique located om Amsterdam.

Lovely and cute webshop with a various collection. Mostly 70s and up, but older pieces can be found. Items descriptions are sometimes a bit 'basic' so make sure to have a good look. Regular updates and very friendly prices!

A bit of and odd name (gotta love odd though)... but hey; they sell cute stuff so I figured I'd put this webshop in the list as well. A combination of mainly 70s-80s vintage, but there are some gems to be found on there!

Strong points: Good items description and I love their styling!Delivery: Fast and traceable

Even though TV doens't sell actual vintage, I could not withold this great repro shop from the list. Top Vintage sells many repro brands, from the affordable ones to the more exclusive and pricey ones. So there is something for everyone, and the styles are mostly 40s to 60s. Great customer service!

Strong points: HUGE selection of different labelsDelivery: Fast and traceable

This is a smaller webshop, which I would still recommend gladly. I have found several gorgeous items there in the past. Make sure to take a closer and second look at the items, because the item description and pictures don't always do the product justice. Items from the 60s and up mostly, but older pieces tend to pop up occasionally.

Strong points: A gorgeous watch selection - Great variety of items - On of the fewer shops to sell hats

Hmmmm would it not be ever so lovely if we could all just walk around in our Sundays best, every day of the week... It sometimes saddens me we do not get to wear our vintage prettiness that much, in our modern casual an practical world. But hey, we are never to old to play a bit of dress up every once in a while. One of my latest (yet another Episode) finds oozes 'dress-up' to me. It reminds me of one of those fairy tale dresses I used to wear when I was reenacting my childhood dreams as wee little me. I reckon it's the combination of the tulle like overlay and peachy pink lining.... Oh darling prince charming of mine, do take me to a ball some time!

September 16, 2013

Now that the weather is turning, making outfit pictures outdoors is not that easy (with the rain an all...) So we made some quick indoorsy pictures of what I wore on an easy going sunday. I still love this dress I found online for a mere 10 euros so much... the color and fit are just gorgy-gooorgeous! <3

Dress: vintage Betty Barclay (marktplaats)

Cardigan: 70s vintage (Giensch)

Shoes: Rock&Roll kleding

Bag: vintage (Sussies)

Jewelry: vintage/thrifted

September 14, 2013

Is there anything better, than to drift away on a sea of fashion history? I reckon there is not... therefore I away get psyched when a new costume drama series pops up. My most recent discovery has been 'Mr. Selfride' which a lovely colleague of mine pointed out to me. A series filled with historic fashion imagery since the story is about Selfridges warehouse in Londen during the last years of La Belle Epoque. A true delight, absolutely lovely to watch. Great imagery, lovely casting and a cute 'Brittish' story....

Since a picture says more then a thousand words and a movie is filled with a thousand pictures.... I say watch the Mr. Selfridge trailer to see if this is something you kittens would like to watch....

September 6, 2013

Oh modern technology.... why are thou so resourceful.... how can we nostalgist ever keep up? WELLLL we can start by downloading the next amazing app: The Vintage Detective. An app filled with lovely selected vintage addresses throughout Holland and Belgium, how can we resist?

I downloaded this handy appliance a few months ago and I have to say; very very convenient. You can choose from a great variety of Dutch cities to visit with this app. When selected a city, let's say Utrecht, the app will show you all the vintage shops worth visiting... But it doesn't stop there. The list of hotspots is also enriched with several vintage-y establishments where you can grab a bite, get your hair done... and so on. Per hotspot, you will find a handy description including how to get there, opening hours and contact information. A great little guideline to help you enjoy a (new) town to the vintage fullest I'd say!

September 1, 2013

Exciteddddd! It is always such a treat to see your work being published <3 In the September issue of Dark Beauty Magazine, you will find this gorgeous shoot I styled a few months ago. I already showed you some behind the scenes images and now I'll show you the actual pictures. Shot by Eva Krebbers and produced by my dearest hair guru Madame de Pompadour;

Funambules

Where ‘haute couture’ hair meets intricate rope
patterns

Blinded by clichés, we sometimes tend to
overlook true craftsmanship. Where the word ‘bondage’ instantly rings a
kink-ish bell and ‘hairstyling’ is now represented in a 1001 cosmetic commercials,
the definition and skill behind those words get lost. However, creating the most extravagant
hairdos has been an art form throughout human history as well as the techniques
used in Japanese bondage. Ancient cultures have enjoyed and cherished both
disciplines throughout the centuries. Now they are combined, complementing each
other in these photos while creating a balance between imagination and art. This project is all about capturing
these two crafts from history, to set them in a new light and perhaps even let
them be redefined by the eye of the beholder….